Earthquake and Tsunami
2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami
Introduction
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake,[6][7](Japanese: "Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster" was a magnitude 9.0 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred on Friday, 11 March 2011 It was the most powerful known earthquake to have hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world overall since modern record-keeping began in 1900. In addition to loss of life and destruction of infrastructure, the tsunami caused a number of nuclear accidents, The Japanese National Police Agency has confirmed 15,538 deaths,[4][5] 5,685 injured,[4][5] and 7,060 people missing. 45,700 buildings were destroyed and 144,300 were damaged by the quake and tsunami.
Earthquake
the epicenter was located approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 32 km (20 mi).
The earthquake triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 40.5 metres (133 ft) in Miyako, Iwate, Tōhoku.[12][13] In some cases traveling up to 10 km (6 mi) inland.[where?][14]
Geology
This earthquake occurred where the Pacific Plate is subducting under the plate beneath northern Honshu. The Pacific plate, which moves at a rate of 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in) per year, dips under Honshu's underlying plate releasing large amounts of energy. This motion pulls the upper plate down until the stress builds up enough to cause a seismic event.
Energy
This earthquake released a surface energy (Me) of 1.9±0.5×1017 joules,[48] dissipated as shaking and tsunamic energy, which is nearly double that of the 9.1-magnitude 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that killed 230,000 people.
Geophysical impacts
The quake moved portions of northeastern Japan by as much as 2.4 m (7.9 ft) closer to North America,[26][27]making portions of Japan's landmass wider than before. The earthquake
Introduction
The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake,[6][7](Japanese: "Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster" was a magnitude 9.0 (Mw) undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred on Friday, 11 March 2011 It was the most powerful known earthquake to have hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world overall since modern record-keeping began in 1900. In addition to loss of life and destruction of infrastructure, the tsunami caused a number of nuclear accidents, The Japanese National Police Agency has confirmed 15,538 deaths,[4][5] 5,685 injured,[4][5] and 7,060 people missing. 45,700 buildings were destroyed and 144,300 were damaged by the quake and tsunami.
Earthquake
the epicenter was located approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 32 km (20 mi).
The earthquake triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves of up to 40.5 metres (133 ft) in Miyako, Iwate, Tōhoku.[12][13] In some cases traveling up to 10 km (6 mi) inland.[where?][14]
Geology
This earthquake occurred where the Pacific Plate is subducting under the plate beneath northern Honshu. The Pacific plate, which moves at a rate of 8 to 9 cm (3.1 to 3.5 in) per year, dips under Honshu's underlying plate releasing large amounts of energy. This motion pulls the upper plate down until the stress builds up enough to cause a seismic event.
Energy
This earthquake released a surface energy (Me) of 1.9±0.5×1017 joules,[48] dissipated as shaking and tsunamic energy, which is nearly double that of the 9.1-magnitude 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami that killed 230,000 people.
Geophysical impacts
The quake moved portions of northeastern Japan by as much as 2.4 m (7.9 ft) closer to North America,[26][27]making portions of Japan's landmass wider than before. The earthquake